What to do with those tiny potatoes
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Every week it seems I see a new kind of potato at Weiser Family Farms’ stall: Purple Peruvian, Red Thumb, Rose Finn or the lovely Peewee Russian Banana fingerlings I picked up last Friday at the Venice farmers market. But what to do with them? They were too pretty to mash, and I was tired of boiling potatoes. Then I remembered the potatoes my garde-manger chef at culinary school used to make. Every time we made duck confit, she would slowly brown halved potatoes in the extra rendered duck fat. Sprinkled liberally with kosher salt or sometimes even fleur de sel, they were simple -- and about as delicious as a potato can be. (I cooked mine in a covered cast-iron pan, over low heat, for about 40 minutes, turning them now and again for even cooking.) Imagine French fries if they were truly French, cooked in a farmhouse in the Southwest, where duck fat is practically a condiment. No wonder Johnny Depp relocated.
Peewee Russian Banana fingerling potatoes, $3.50 per pound from Weiser Family Farms. Rendered duck fat, $12.99 for 2 lbs. at Surfas, 8824 National Blvd., Culver City; (310) 559-4770.
-- Amy Scattergood
